There are many people who made a real impact on our world over the years. These people have done such great things, that most people assume that they are all great people. Sure, some of them are great people, but not all of them. Here are some respected historical figures who were actually terrible people.
Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi is known as being one of the most peaceful men of all time. He may have done many great things, but he was also a sex addict. When his father was dying, he left his bedside to have sex with his wife. He was 15 at the time, and his wife was 16. At the age of 38, he took a vow of chastity. He tested this by sleeping with women while naked. Some of them were as young as 18-years-old, and he often slept with multiple women at once. He went as far as to tell people that they should also practice chastity, even if they are married. Maybe he just didn’t want anyone to get any since he couldn’t.
Mother Theresa
Mother Theresa is the Saint of all Saints. Nobody in history did more for the poor and the sick. According to a report in the Times of India, her motives were not pure. It is believed that her focus was less on helping people, and more on boosting the numbers for her religion. Her true goal was to persuade people to convert to Roman Catholicism.
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill is famous for his efforts in fighting the Nazis during World War II. As it turned out, he was a white supremacist, who had more in common with his enemies than he let on. It is said that he took pride in what he called “a lot of jolly little wars against barbarous people” in Africa. When he joined Parliament, he advocated for more war against minorities. When Gandhi was trying to free India from British rule, Churchill said, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” Statements like this wouldn’t fly today.
Steve Jobs
If you own any Apple products, you can thank Steve Jobs. However, you shouldn’t put him on a pedestal just yet. It is said that he was a real jerk. He fathered a daughter but claimed that she wasn’t his. Because of this, she didn’t see him for years. He contracted Apple with Chinese factories, and the conditions were so bad that people were driven to exhaustion. Several workers committed suicide over the pace they were expected to keep up with to make his Apple products. He really wasn’t a nice guy.
Walt Disney
How could anyone think that, a historical figure, the creator of Mickey Mouse and the Magic Kingdom could be a mean person? It turns out that he is worse than the Wicked Witch in Snow White. It turns out that he was really racist. In meetings, he referred to the Seven Dwarves as a ni**er pile, which is horrible. He also used the term, “pickaninny” in meetings, which is an old-time, offensive term for black children. Also, he didn’t respect women. He claimed that women couldn’t be creative or do creative work. Worst of all, he hated cats. What kind of person hates cats?
Caravaggio
Caravaggio was a highly respected Renaissance artist. He painted Judith Beheading Holofernes, but he was also a murderer. In 2002, it was revealed that he killed a man named Ranuccio Tomassoni in 1606. Some believed that he killed him over a tennis match, but he actually killed him over a prostitute. Caravaggio asked the woman to sit for a painting, and he fell in love with her. Tomassoni was her pimp, and Caravaggio didn’t like this. He tried to castrate Tomassoni, but it didn’t work out that way. He cut the man’s femoral artery, and he bled out and died. That’s pretty harsh.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther’s claim to fame is his 95 Theses and the Protestant Reformation. He also hated the Jews. And he felt that it was an evil religion and should be destroyed. He called them, “a rejected and condemned people.”
John Wayne
John Wayne had a reputation as a man’s man, a historical figure but unfortunately, this cowboy was also a full-blown racist. In a 1971 interview with Playboy, he referred to African-Americans as, “blacks,” and admitted that he didn’t like them. He said that he didn’t let “blacks” do anything because they didn’t know what they were doing. He also said that he believed in white supremacy until blacks are educated to the point of responsibility. Also, he had an issue with Native Americans. He stated that there was nothing wrong with white people stealing the land from the Native Americans because they were hoarding it for themselves. Really?
Charlie Chaplin
Who didn’t love Charlie Chaplin? He may have been goofy and great on film, but he was pretty sleazy in real life. Two of his four wives were under 18 when he married them. He also treated his wives with great disrespect. When is first wife was 16, she got movie offers. He told her she was too young to have talent, but she wasn’t too young to marry him. He got his second 16-year-old wife pregnant before they married, and he told her to have an abortion. When she refused, he married her, but he treated her terribly. He cheated on her and disrespected her. He was a pretty rotten guy.
Aristotle
Aristotle was a great philosopher and a historical figure. He was wise, but when it came to women, he was clueless. In his mind, women were barely human beings. He said that women had fewer teeth than men because they were rendered incomplete. It’s sad that Aristotle was actually a sexist.
